An episode of Homeland, a fictional drama series in which the CIA investigates a possible terrorist threat, had a storyline involving Muslims versus a “righteous America”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the episode promoted “Islamophobia” and breached the discrimination and denigration standard: the standard was not intended to prevent the broadcast of legitimate drama, and the programme did not encourage the denigration of, or discrimination against, a section of the community.
Not Upheld: Discrimination and Denigration
In a One News report on the Australian Open Tennis Championships, Serena Williams’ performance was described as “almost schizophrenic”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the discrimination and denigration and accuracy standards: the term “schizophrenic” was being used colloquially, the comment did not carry any invective or malice and was not used to encourage discrimination against, or denigration of, people with mental illness as a section of the community; the use of the term “schizophrenic” was not a statement of fact – it amounted to commentary and was therefore exempt from the standards of accuracy.
Not Upheld: Accuracy, Discrimination and Denigration
A 3 News report on the Government’s asset sales policy included excerpts from interviews with opposition MPs, including Hone Harawira, who used the word “bullshit”. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards: the comment would not have surprised or distressed most viewers in the context of a political story screened during an unclassified news programme targeted at adults.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests
A song entitled “Our Love Suicide” by rap artist Tinie Tempah was broadcast during Mid-Mornings with K-Lee on MaiFM at approximately 11.15am. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the standards relating to good taste and decency and responsible programming: the song lyric “love suicide” was used metaphorically to refer to the ending of a relationship and not in its literal sense, and the song did not promote or glorify suicide.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
A One News item report on the Pike River Inquiry quoted a miner’s mother as saying “Jesus Christ” when she heard new evidence that the mine manager had sent emails about a new job minutes after the explosion. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency, and discrimination and denigration standards: “Jesus Christ” when used as a colloquial expression of shock and dismay did not amount to coarse language and would not offend or distress most viewers; the phrase was a verbatim quote from a miner’s mother in relation to her personal tragedy; as an expression of dismay, it was not an attack against Christians as a section of the community.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Discrimination and Denigration
An episode of Two and a Half Men which screened at 7.30pm contained sexual innuendo, including references to transmitting sexual diseases, and showed a naked man with his genitals pixellated. It was not preceded by a warning. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency and children’s interests standards: the sexual innuendo was inexplicit and sophisticated so it would have gone over the heads of younger viewers, the nudity was pixellated, and the content was consistent with the programme’s PGR rating.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests
During live talkback on the election “tea tapes” story, Radio Live host Michael Laws commented that “the media have gone mad, rabid. If I had a gun I’d shoot them, put them out of their misery, because they have gone rabid and they may infect others.” He went on to specifically mention the Herald on Sunday and questioned why someone hadn’t taken a shotgun and “cleaned out the entire news room”. A majority of the Authority upheld the complaint that these comments breached the good taste and decency standard: the combination of the length of the statement, its repeated use of graphic imagery, its specificity in relation to identified journalists and its mode of delivery made the statement unacceptable. Notwithstanding the importance of freedom of expression, Mr Laws’ comments went too far. The Authority made no order. In a minority decision, one member argued that the broadcast did not breach the good taste and decency standard because of the context of talkback radio and Mr Laws’ style, and the use of an accepted and well understood colloquialism. The Authority unanimously did not uphold the complaint that the words breached the law and order standard.
Upheld (Majority): Good Taste and Decency
Not Upheld: Law and Order
No Order
An episode of Homeland, a drama series in which the CIA investigates a possible terrorist threat, was broadcast on TV3 at 8.30pm. It contained brief nudity and a sex scene. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the programme breached the good taste and decency, and responsible programming standards: the programme was correctly classified and the pre-broadcast warning for “sexual material” was adequate to cover the content in the programme.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Responsible Programming
A TV One documentary entitled A Rotten Shame investigated New Zealand’s leaky homes crisis and sought to expose systematic failures in the building industry that had led to the crisis. The presenter door-stepped a building inspector responsible for inspecting a house eleven years earlier, which had since developed serious problems and had to be demolished. A portion of this interview was included in the programme. The building inspector complained that this breached the controversial issues, accuracy and fairness standards. The Authority held that the action taken by the broadcaster in upholding the door-stepping aspect of the fairness complaint was insufficient. The Authority did not uphold any other part of the complaint: the item focused on systematic failures which led to the leaky homes crisis rather than on the complainant, it included the complainant’s viewpoint, and it did not create a misleading impression about the complainant’s culpability. The Authority ordered TVNZ to pay $500 towards the complainant’s legal costs.
Upheld: Fairness (Action Taken)
Not Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Fairness
Order: $500 costs to complainant
During an episode of Bomber’s Blog, broadcast on Triangle TV at 9.45pm, the presenter used offensive language while reviewing the week’s political news. The same language was displayed onscreen. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that this breached the good taste and decency standard: political commentary and satire are important forms of speech, and taking into account relevant contextual factors most viewers would not have been offended by the language used.
Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency